Old Girlfriends 3: Romana
by MizJoely
Summary: She's badgered the 7th Doctor about Sarah Jane and Tegan, now it's Romana's turn under Ace's romantic microscope.
1. Coffee Klatch

"About Romana…" Ace's voice trailed off suggestively.

The Doctor sighed. Loudly. "It's only been a week, Ace. You could at least give a chap more than seven days to recover from your insatiable curiosity."

They were in the kitchen, eating a late breakfast after another hasty departure from another planet that wasn't likely to welcome them back anytime soon. The conversation had been general during meal prep, Ace relaxing at the small table while the Doctor whipped up egg sandwiches and coffee.

"Time's relative, innit?" was Ace's cocky response. "Sides, I figure you need to talk, get it all out. No good brooding on things."

"Brooding?" The Doctor visibly bristled, brandishing the spatula. "When have you ever seen me brooding?"

Before Ace could do more than open her mouth, he raised a commanding hand, his hauteur only slightly marred by the fact that he was still holding the spatula. "Never mind. I'm sure you could spout off a hundred examples for me, conjured up by your lurid imagination."

"Don't need a lurid imagination around you, Professor," Ace disagreed with a knowing smirk. "Except when you skip over the good parts. So, which Romana was it? The first one? The second one? Both?" She seemed particularly intrigued by that last possibility.

"They each had unique qualities," the Doctor mused, smiling at some unseen memory. "I quite enjoyed them both. Their company," the added hastily as Ace's smirk became more pronounced. "I enjoyed their company. But Romana's first self was hardly around long enough for a real relationship."

"Long term doesn't seem to be your strong suit," Ace replied, then bit her lip and silently chastised herself. That was the way to get him talking; point out his shortcomings. Brilliant.

"No, it doesn't," the Doctor agreed as he joined her at the table. Ace was pleasantly surprised; she'd have though he'd take her comment as an excuse to end the conversation. "Personality flaw, I suppose. One that manages to stick through most of my regenerations." He handed her a plate and set the other in front of himself.

"Romana was another one that left you." Ace's voice was tentative. She didn't want to scare him off, not when he was being so cooperative. "Did she end it, like Tegan?" She took a bite of the sandwich. Giving him time to answer. And, of course, she was starving.

"Not quite the same as Tegan," the Doctor corrected with a shake of his head. He took a thoughtful sip of his coffee. "Tegan was running from something, and Romana was running to something. Quite a bit different."

"But in the end, they both left you," Ace said quietly, feeling an unexpected stab of sympathy. She took a quick gulp of her own coffee, swallowing past the sudden lump in her throat.

The Doctor nodded. "They both left me. And each time, I deserved it."

"So how did this one start? Two Time Lords traveling together, nature taking its course?" The mischievous tone had returned to Ace's voice, deliberately summoned so she could navigate this latest minefield of the Doctor's emotions.

"How very alliterative of you, Ace," the Doctor murmured, gazing into his coffee cup before taking another sip. "As for nature taking its course, I'm afraid you've misunderstood the nature of most Time Lords. My, er, 'social activities' are rather outside the Gallifreyan norm. Not entirely unheard of, but certainly not as much a part of everyday life as the same activities are on Earth."

"What, Time Lords don't usually take lovers?" Ace had wanted desperately to say "have sex," but decided at the last minute to be more discreet. No sense in ruining the confidential mood.

The Doctor shook his head. "Not usually, no. And Romana was very young, fresh out of the Academy and fully indoctrinated in all things Gallifreyan. I was determined to educate her on what the larger universe had to offer, but romance was the last thing on either of our minds when we first met."

"So what changed?"

"She did. Literally, by regenerating. She changed, and she decided to stay with me even though we'd dealt with the Key to Time, the ostensible reason for her traveling with me in the first place. I changed, too," he added. "Changed how I thought of her, how I looked at her, once I had it in my head that she wasn't going to leave the first chance she got." That had been a distinct possibility, especially once she'd been informed that it wasn't the President of Gallifrey who'd sent her to join the Doctor's quest. He'd been secretly relieved when she opted to remain, without even discussing the matter, although he'd heard her muttering unkind things about the White Guardian now and again.

"Her regenerating unsettled me," the Doctor continued slowly, his gaze once again growing distant. He spoke softly, half to himself, and Ace wondered if he even remembered she was there. As if in response to her thoughts, he looked down at her sharply. "I dislike the feeling, then and now. So I refused to acknowledge it at the time."

"Was it bad?" Romana's data in the TARDIS databanks was spotty, deliberately so, Ace suspected. She knew the Time Lady had regenerated before they met up with Davros on Skaro, but not why. Nor had Ace ever personally witnessed a regeneration, although the various descriptions in the database, gleaned from more than one former companion's accounts, were fascinating. Fascinating, and horrifying. For Romana to have regenerated so young, something must have happened during their quest for the last component to the Key.

But the Doctor surprised her. "Bad? I suppose it was, but not in the way you mean. She wasn't dying, at least, not to my knowledge. I suppose she might have kept it to herself, but that wasn't the impression I received. No, it was how…c_asual_ she appeared, flippant, almost. As if regenerating was something to be done on a whim. But we both knew better than that, so I assumed there was something else going on. Especially once she settled on a particular form…"


	2. A Particular Form

**oooOooo**

"They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

"They do, do they?" Romana wasn't looking at him. Nothing unusual there, but the Doctor wanted her full attention. Between searching out the various sections of the Key to Time and ridding the universe of the Dalek menace once-and-for-all for the millionth time, neither had been very attentive to the other. But things had gone unsaid between them for too long, bubbling away beneath the surface, unacknowledged, and it was time to deal with it. Once and for all.

"Is that why you chose that particular body?"

Romana looked down at herself. "What's wrong with this body? I thought you liked it." She sucked in her breath, quickly, almost unnoticeably. Almost. Her next words were hurried. "Anyway, it's me now, so why the sudden interest in motive?"

"It's not a sudden interest, Romana," he corrected her with a frown. "It's a renewed interest, now that things have settled down a bit."

"You mean now that the Daleks aren't trying to exterminate us," Romana murmured, her attention apparently returning to the text she'd been reading. Apparently was the key word; the Doctor had learned enough of her body language to know appearances, in this case, were deceiving.

"Ye-es, now that's over with," the Doctor agreed. They were sitting on opposite sofas in the largest TARDIS library, the one with books mingled with scrolls and data strips in a haphazard manner on most of the shelves. Except, of course, for the ones Romana had organized. Her first self. "Look, Romana, we need to talk about this."

"Talk about what?" She'd returned her attention to him, but held his gaze for only a moment before shifting it back to the book in her hands. A first edition Twain, the Doctor realized. One of the many Earth books in his collection.

"About the guilt you feel for allowing Princess Astra to be turned into a component for the Key."

"You mean for allowing Princess Astra to die," Romana corrected him, her voice and eyes fierce.

"Yes, that is exactly what I mean." The Doctor was the first to look away this time. "We both bear the guilt for that, Romana, but you know we had to let it happen. The consequences--"

Romana nearly threw the book onto the table next to her; at the last possible second, she set it gently on the glass surface. "It still doesn't feel right."

"It feels so not-right that you need to wear her form in penance?"

There, he'd said it. Out loud. To Romana. It would be interesting to hear what she had to say about it...


	3. Forming New Habits

**oOo**

The Doctor opened his eyes, not sure why he'd closed them. Nor why he was lying on his back on the floor. He blinked as Romana's concerned face peered down at him. "Are you all right?" There was a trace of belligerence behind the concern.

"You hit me." The empirical evidence was overwhelming, from the pain in his jaw and blood on his lip, to the way Romana was massaging her right hand. She nodded, reaching down with her left hand to help pull him to his feet.

The Doctor probed gently at his aching jaw, dabbing at the blood on his lip with the end of his scarf as he released Romana's hand and flopped onto the closest seat. "You seem to be losing your Gallifreyan detachment," the Doctor said after a long moment passed.

Romana's back was to him; he thought her heard a choked-off laugh as she slowly moved toward the sofa, joining him after a further moment's hesitation. "Is it bad?"

"Bad? No," the Doctor replied, his words tinged with offense. "How could it be? I mean, look at us!" He indicated the disparity in their heights and relative body masses with vague waves of his hands. Never mind that he'd been the one laid out flat.

"Let me see." Romana's hands were gentle as she turned his head towards her. He allowed the movement, wincing only slightly as her fingertips brushed the rapidly forming bruise on his lower jaw. She'd put everything she had into the punch, and all frivolity aside, it hurt like the devil. "All this without a slingshot," she murmured, her lips twitching with what looked suspiciously like a proud smile.

The Doctor pulled his head back. "Remind me never to get you angry at me again."

Her eyes met his, squarely this time. "No, remind me never to take out my self-directed anger at you again." She raised a hand to silence him as his mouth opened. "You were right, Doctor, and I didn't want to admit it. I chose this form deliberately, and not just because I thought Princess Astra was pretty. I also regenerated deliberately. There was no physical reason for it, I think you already know that."

The Doctor nodded. "Yes." His voice was as serious as hers. "I assumed you had your reasons for simply throwing one of your lives away."

"It seemed a fair trade." Romana half-rose to her feet, then sank back down, leaning her head back on the top of the sofa. "A life for a life. I hated what happened to her. I've never felt so...powerless."

"But regenerating was something you could control, is that it? A way of honoring her sacrifice?"

Romana's eyes widened slightly. "You do understand!" she exclaimed, sounding almost accusative.

The Doctor nodded. "I did. I do. But I wasn't sure if it was a conscious decision."

"Quite conscious, Doctor." Impulsively, she leaned forward and kissed him on the side of his mouth that wasn't bloody. "I'm sorry for that." She indicated his injuries with a nod.

"What, this? It's nothing," the Doctor pshawed, smiling and then wincing in pain. "But perhaps I'd best do something about it."

"Obviously kissing it and making it better isn't working," Romana agreed solemnly. The Doctor laughed, startled, then winced again, but continued laughing. Romana joined in, and he impulsively hugged her.

She stiffened in his embrace, but before he could release her or blurt out an embarrassed apology, she relaxed and allowed herself to snuggle closer. "You've picked up a lot of non-Gallifreyan habits, I see."

"So have you," the Doctor noted with a grin.

"This habit is one I might be willing to learn." She reached up and pulled his arm down around her shoulders. "This physical closeness is more enjoyable than I would have imagined, based on the descriptions I've heard." She made a face.

"Descriptions of what, exactly?"

"Oh, you know, exchanging bodily fluids. Intimacy sounds so...messy." She shuddered, lightly, with more humor than real distaste.

"It is," the Doctor murmured, his grin vanishing. "In every sense of the word."

"Then why bother with it? You have, haven't you? Bothered with it?" Romana studiously examined her hands as she spoke. Avoiding his eyes.

"Yes, many times. Too many times, perhaps. Another weakness of mine, another bad habit, if you will."

"But one you're not willing to give up?" She looked at him that time, squarely, eyes to eyes, no dissembling and no laughter.

"Not in the least." The Doctor's answer was firm, unhesitating. "I hope one day you'll understand why."

"I think I'm half-way there," Romana admitted. A smile returned to her face, creeping over her lips and illuminating her eyes in a way that made the Doctor's hearts pound. Impulsively he leaned down, pulling back as her eyes widened in alarm. "Doctor, were you about to kiss me? In a bodily-fluids kind of way?"

"Well, I thought you might appreciate a little empirical evidence, but I thought better of it. The split lip would make it less than pleasant for either of us. And, of course, there's always the matter of permission, I suppose." The Doctor knew he was babbling, and shut up abruptly if only to spare his brain from screaming at his mouth to cease and desist.


	4. Did He or Didn't He?

**ooooOoooo**

"Well? Did you? Kiss her?" Ace was practically bouncing in her seat, her half-eaten sandwich clutched, forgotten, in one hand.

To her disappointment, the Doctor shook his head. "No. Impulsive and slightly scatter-brained though I may have been in that particular incarnation, I still knew how to read a situation. Romana wasn't ready for that kind of a kiss. Not then, not so soon after admitting that she'd basically thrown away a perfectly good incarnation out of an overblown sense of guilt."

"But she was right," Ace pointed out around a mouthful of her rediscovered sandwich. "You did make the choice to allow Princess Astra to die or become a key or whatever."

"Yes, well, forgive me if I found that preferable to plunging the entire universe into chaos," the Doctor snapped.

"If you had the chance to do it over again, would you?"

"Yes." There wasn't a hint of doubt in the Doctor's voice or expression.

"Would she? Would Romana?"

This time the Doctor hesitated, but only for a moment. "Yes, I believe she would. She's even less fond of chaos than I am."

Ace shrugged. "Then the choice was the right one, Professor. So was not kissing Romana that time. So when did you?" Her eyes sparkled as she asked the question that mattered the most to her at this moment. Ethics and philosophy were all well and good, but nothing beat a good snog.

The faraway look returned to the Doctor's eyes, his Scottish burr becoming more pronounced as he lowered his coffee cup to the table. "Paris."

"City of romance, right? Or was that lights?" Ace pondering was a sight that tickled the Doctor's sense of whimsy, but fortunately he managed to stifle the chuckle before it emerged.

"Both, actually. We'd just taken care of the Jagaroth and left that detective fellow, what was his name? Dugan? Wiggins? No, Duggan, that was it. Left him at the top of the Eiffel Tower, headed for the TARDIS."

"And then what?"

"We stopped for dinner."


	5. Paris By Moonlight

**ooooOoooo**

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Well, was I right or was I right?"

"You were right." Romana admitted it freely, knowing it would surprise him and suppressing a giggle as she felt him staring at her. Usually she argued with him or denied it if he accurately guessed her reaction, but tonight she didn't feel like playing the usual game. "It was delicious, as good as anything I've had on Gallifrey." She pulled a face. "Better by far than some."

They were strolling along the banks of the Seine, arm in arm, making their way in companionable silence until the Doctor broke it with his first question. "So now you'll admit that my taste isn't all that bad?"

Romana grinned up at him. "I'll go so far as to say it isn't _always_ that bad," she conceded.

"It's the subtle differences you have to watch out for," the Doctor muttered by way of response, but he grinned back. Neither of them felt like dueling, not on such a beautiful night. "Perhaps 1979 isn't such a bad year."

They stopped and gazed out over the water, purified by the silvery gleam of the full moon, disguising the less attractive detritus visible under the relentless glare of daylight. "It's lovely," Romana murmured, then turned and smiled up at the Doctor.

His easy grin faltered as he met her gaze, then disappeared as he leaned down and kissed her. She stood quite still, not moving even when he broke off the kiss and peered down at her, suddenly uncertain. "Romana?"

"You kissed me."

He nodded uncertainly. "Yes, I did."

"Why?"

"Well, I thought...that is, I wanted...I thought you wanted...because we're in Paris on the banks of the Seine in the moonlight and you looked as if you should be kissed," the Doctor finished, shrugging helplessly. "I'm sorry if I misunder--"

He got no farther than that before she slapped him. Hard. "Don't you ever dare to presume such a thing again." She glared at him. "I'll be the one to decide when I should or should not be kissed." Just as the Doctor opened his mouth to apologize again, she yanked him down to her level, both hands firmly grasping his scarf. "Now kiss me again," she ordered. "Properly. _With_ my permission."

"In a bodily-fluids kind of way?" the Doctor muttered, but the twinkle had returned to his eyes, matched by the mischievous spark in hers. This time, she returned the kiss wholeheartedly, pressing her body against his in a way that seemed to startle her as much as it did him, and nodding when he tentatively put his arms around her.

When Romana finally pulled away, breathless, she gave a small laugh and released her hold on his scarf ends. "Back to the TARDIS, I think. Paris is having a very strange effect on me."

The Doctor's grin was wicked. "I'd rather like to stay."

"The TARDIS," Romana repeated, but there was a slight grin curling the edges of her lips, and she held her hand out to the Doctor. He caught it up and willingly followed as they returned to the ship.

Once inside, Romana released his hand and bent down to rub the waiting K-9 along his metallic nose. "Miss us, K-9?" Without waiting for an answer, she straightened up and turned to look at the Doctor. "Remember what I said: My choice. My permission."

"I'm likely to seek that permission on a regular basis," the Doctor retorted, but Romana just wrinkled her nose and headed through the interior door. "Good night, gentlemen. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Mistress," K-9 replied. Manners were illogical, as he well knew, but so were humanoids, and sometimes it was logical to accede to their illogical wishes. Mistress Romana had lectured him several times on manners, so he'd finally incorporated some of what she told him into his memory.

"K-9, what do you know about women?" The Doctor absently rubbed his cheek as he gazed after Romana. It no longer stung, although it had for a good long while. At least she was pulling her punches a bit now.

"Insufficient detail in your query, Master," the robotic dog responded. "Please restate your question."

"Insufficient detail in anyone's ability to answer that query, I'm afraid," the Doctor muttered. "Remember, K-9. Women are more difficult to decipher than any secret code." He walked away, whistling. Heading for his own quarters and some very heavy thinking indeed.

**ooooOoooo**

"Get off, you had a dog?" Ace was incredulous. "A robot dog? What'd you do with it?"

"The K-9 Mark I stayed with Leela on Gallifrey, and the Mark II stayed with Romana when she remained in E-Space. And the Mark III I sent back to Sarah Jane."

"What, none for Tegan or Peri?" The words were out before Ace could stop them, although she did manage to stifle the snicker that wanted to follow them.

"That's rather unkind of you, Ace." The reprimand was mild, but Ace knew he was right.

"Sorry, Professor," she muttered. "I just had this sudden image of a game show host offering lovely parting gifts."

"That wasn't how it was intended, and I certainly hope none of them viewed it that way." The Doctor was still offended, but he was also still talking to her, so Ace relaxed a bit. "The Mark III specifically had me drop him off on Earth long after Sarah Jane had stopped traveling with me," he added with a frown. "I can't remember why, but for some reason he decided she needed him more than I did. In fact, each K-9 unit opted to leave me, so eventually I got the hint and stopped building them."

For some reason that struck Ace as incredibly sad, although she refrained from telling the Doctor how she felt. Perhaps it was the wistful note in his voice, or the faraway gaze in his eyes. Instead, she returned to the story she'd interrupted. "I never realized Romana was so violent. Hitting you twice."

"Don't worry, it wasn't an abusive relationship." Ace went very still at that, which the Doctor noted but chose to file away rather than pursue. Perhaps one day she'd be ready to share some of her past with him, more than the snippets she'd given out now and again. "And I certainly never laid a finger on her. I think she was just frightened, and I can't blame her. I was introducing her to new thoughts, new emotions, and change can be very frightening, especially for the young." Never mind that Romana's "young" was Ace's "ancient."

"So did things go on from there, or just sort of stall out?" Ace would be bitterly disappointed if this was the end of this particular romance, dead on the vine before blooming, but she suspected there was still more to come.

"Stall out? Not in the least," she was relieved to hear the Doctor say. "But it was certainly going to go at Romana's pace, which meant I had to be more patient than I usually was in that particular incarnation. Believe me, there were times when I almost wished she'd tell me we hadn't a chance at anything more than a friendly professional relationship, just so I would know for sure."

"That wasn't what you wanted, though, right?" Ace's grin had returned. "For things to just end there. So what did you do? Flowers and candy?"

"Nothing so common," the Doctor sniffed. "Between adventures, we worked closely together on some theoretical mathematical issues I thought might intrigue her."

Ace rolled her eyes. "Math theory. Right. Incredibly romantic. How could I ever have doubted you."

"Do you want to know if it worked or not?" Ace nodded, and the Doctor continued. "All right then, mathematical theory. Far more romantic than you might think..."


	6. Maths and Champagne

**ooooOoooo**

"Got it!"

The Doctor looked up from his computer screen. "You did not!" He sounded offended.

Romana danced--yes, danced--over to him, waving a print-out. "Yes I did!" She thrust the paper at him triumphantly. "Here! Read it and cry!"

"It's 'read 'em and weep,'" the Doctor corrected absently, his attention fully absorbed by the pages of equations Romana had so smugly handed him. His lips moved along with his finger as he followed the complicated, yet elegant, mathematical notations to their inevitable conclusion. He looked up, thunderstruck. "You did it!"

"You needn't seem so surprised." Some of the elation had abandoned Romana's voice and face.

"Surprised? I'm astounded!" The Doctor, his nose still buried in the print-outs, missed the look of disappointment on Romana's face. All he heard was the brittleness in her voice as she asked him why.

He looked up, pausing with a frown as he caught a glimpse of Romana's crestfallen face. Before she changed to a more neutral expression, of course. "Not in your abilities, Romana," he hastened to assure her. "This problem has eluded some of the greatest mathematical minds in this section of the galaxy for centuries!"

The smug grin returned to Romana's face. "Well, then, it's a good thing I'm not from this section of the galaxy, isn't it." She plucked the papers out of his hands, smoothing them gently as she laid them on the table, looking back with a frown as a thought struck her. "If you thought it was unsolvable, they why challenge me to solve it?"

The Doctor shrugged, glancing down at the equations once again. "Because you never know until you try?" He peeked up at her from under his floppy hat.

Romana yanked at the ends of his scarf, hauling on them until he stood up and followed her out of the room. "You're incorrigible," she said over her shoulder as she continued to lead him to the TARDIS kitchen. The one with the excellent wine selection. "We are going to drink a toast," she announced, letting go of the scarf and pointing to the wine cooler. "You pick." She sat down on the small divan that faced the counter.

"Very well." The Doctor busied himself with glasses and finding the corkscrew, the good one that always managed to lose itself in the falderal of what he'd labeled the "odds and ends" drawer. "Aha!" He held it up. "Found it. Now. What are you in the mood for?"

"Something celebratory. Champagne, perhaps?" She was smiling, and the Doctor's hearts skipped a beat each at the sight of her lounging on the divan, her blouse open at the throat, sleeves rolled up, no jacket in sight. She must have left it in the laboratory they'd been doing their research in. The Doctor glanced down at himself, surprised to note that his coat was gone as well, in spite of the fact that he retained his hat and scarf. He carefully removed them and laid them on one of the stools facing the counter, then turned to search for the champagne. The good stuff; this really was worth celebrating.

"Celebratory champagne for the lady, and some for the chap who came in a poor second in the mathematics competition," he announced, bringing two bottles and two slender flutes over. He placed them on the low table in front of the divan with a flourish. "As my lady requested." He joined her on the divan, then picked up the first bottle and opened it. They laughed as the cork shot across the room and bounced off the far wall. The Doctor poured them each a generous measure and raised his glass for a toast. "What was it we were celebrating, again?"

Romana fisted him lightly in the ribs before raising her own glass. "To my not inconsiderable genius," she said.

"I'll drink to that," the Doctor replied, clinking his glass against hers. They sipped the champagne, Romana sputtering a little as the bubbles went up her nose. The Doctor laughed as she shook her head and sneezed.

"I don't know why that always happens to me," she complained happily. "You're the one with the nose any champagne bubble would aspire to inhabit."

He frowned in pretend annoyance. "What's wrong with my nose? It's a perfectly good nose, if I do say so myself."

Romana leaned forward and kissed the appendage in question. "It's a lovely nose," she agreed with a girlish giggle. She finished her champagne and held up her flute. "More, please."

The Doctor gave them both refills, then leaned back and stretched lightly. Romana took his pose for an invitation, and plopped her head against his shoulder as she snuggled up close to his side, her feet tucked up beside her. "That was exhilarating," she said after downing her second glass and holding it up in a silent request for more.

The Doctor was matching her, drink for drink; they finished the first bottle before they knew it, sitting in amiable companionship on the divan, going over the finer points of her equations. At least, they did until the second bottle was opened and a third of the way gone. At that point, the Doctor realized he wasn't able to concentrate quite as well on Romana's words, so he focused on the sound of her voice and watching her lips as she spoke.

He hadn't realized he was leaning in until he felt her hand on his chest. "Doctor? Are you all right?" She sounded concerned, and he pulled himself back hurriedly.

"Yes, I'm fine." He peered at the champagne bottle. "It's been a long time, my tolerance must have gone down a hair."

"Yours and mine," Romana admitted with a grin. She tilted her head to look up at him, then snaked her arm behind his neck and pulled his head back down, closer to hers. "Permission granted."

He kissed her, meaning to keep it friendly, but apparently that wasn't what she had in mind as she put her other arm around his neck and pulled him even closer. He ended up half on top of her, but disentangled himself from the embrace when they came up for air. "Romana." She looked at him, smiling in a way that stole whatever he was about to say as well as his breath.

Obviously she read his hesitation correctly. "Doctor. I'm not that drunk. I know what I'm doing." The smile deepened as she reached up and deliberately unbuttoned her blouse. "And I know what I want to be doing. Permission granted…for everything." This time, when she pulled him down, he didn't resist.

**ooooOoooo**

"You've done it again." Ace sounded frustrated.

The Doctor looked at her over the top of his refilled coffee cup. "Done what?"

"Don't play the innocent with me!" Ace's exasperation was only half-mocking as she waggled a finger at him. "You plied her with mathematics and champagne, you kissed her...and then what?"

The Doctor shook his head. Once. Firmly. "You know my feelings about that, Ace. I'm willing to share certain information with you, but no more." He sipped the coffee. "We became a great deal closer after that evening. Things were going along swimmingly."

"So why did she leave you, then, if things were going so well?" Ace braced herself. This was the part she liked the least about these little Q&A sessions, but it was also the part she realized, in some part of her mind, that the Doctor needed most to tell.

"Because, quite frankly, she outgrew the relationship." That had been a particularly painful realization for him to come to. "That champagne-impelled evening was nearly the pinnacle of what we shared. Oh, there were adventures and near-misses and lots of fun avoiding answering some of K-9's rather impertinent questions as to our whereabouts late at 'night,' but we never seemed to gain momentum in our personal lives." He thought he'd found his match, someone to travel with who was not only his intellectual equal, but also someone who he wouldn't have to watch grow old and die, or abandon before they did so. But Romana'd had different ideas, different needs.

"That's even sadder than when Tegan left you," Ace murmured, real sympathy in her voice and eyes.

The Doctor shrugged. "We were comfortable together, but I'd taught her never to settle for just 'comfortable.' She needed to challenge herself, and essentially stranding herself in E-Space was the way she chose to do it. It had nothing to do with me." His voice had gone wistful again. Ace wished he wouldn't do that; it made her sorry she ever started these conversations. "When she opted to stay and help Biroc to free his people, I knew nothing I could say would make her change her mind. So I didn't bother."

"You let her go, just like that. Just like you let Tegan go."

The Doctor nodded. "I did. As with Tegan, I knew it was over, but this time it was because Romana had found a cause that would not only challenge her intellectually, but also, I dare say, spiritually. She'd found something she believed passionately in. A single cause." The wistful smile returned. "She told me once that I was stretching myself too thin, putting my nose in too many people's business. I told her it was because I kept finding short-term problems to solve."

"Doctor, I won't do this again. If you don't want me to." Ace had gone serious, her guilt finally outweighing her curiosity. "I won't ask about anyone else if it's too painful."

The Doctor briefly covered her hand where it rested on the table, squeezing it gently before letting it go. "Ace, I have a confession to make. These conversations have done an old man a great deal of good. It's better to get things out than to let them fester, and I believe that's what I've been doing. Burying the good with the bad. No, you go ahead asking." He picked up their plates and cups and put them in the sink. "Mind you, I don't promise to answer each and every time, but it's all right for you to keep asking."

Ace sighed with relief. "Good. Because it probably would have killed me, Professor, especially now that I know this much." A speculative gleam lit her eyes. "So about Peri..."

"Another time, Ace," the Doctor replied firmly as he ran hot water over the dishes. "Another time."

**The End**


End file.
